Mooring Tackle Help, Please . . .

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Roaring Girl

but generally, get attached and then sort out your lines.

+1

IMO trying to pre-plan too much simply complicates matters.

[SailFastTri]

In the Northeast US the moorings usually have a heavy pennant attached, with or without pickup sticks -- vertical fiberglass whips with weights and floats that are easy to grab from the boat (wear gloves, or you risk fiberglass splinters).

Similar to the Wichard mooring mentioned hook mentioned above, I carry Grab n Go hook made be CS Johnson for those rare times when we need to attach to a ring. Grab n Go Hook . It is only rated 700 pounds SWL so I use it just to get attached, while we launch the dinghy so a more permanent attachment bridle can be made. The Grab n Go hook works very well clipped to a boat hook. We do carry our own bridal with heavy shackles and thimbles, and fenderboards, so we can tie up in almost any situation.

Someone else mentioned above that you should be wary of moorings unless you know it has been well maintained and is sized appropriate for your boat. +1 on that! The image below is from a mooring that put a friend's boat on the rocks, causing over $60k (USD) in damages plus legal expenses. It could have been a total loss if not for the local 3rd party assistance that was rendered to save the boat.

[Kettlewell]

If you don't mind relating, where was that mooring and was the boat owner able to recover damages from the mooring owner?

I have witnessed workers putting together brand new rental mooring gear in ways that I would not consider seaworthy. The problem with a mooring is that you have to trust that the mooring is adequate for your needs, while you can know that with your own anchoring gear.

[GordMay]

Failure Mode Analysis Root Cause: Following Problems have caused failure of MBC Moorings.
. Undersize Chain,
. Worn Chain Re-used
. Used Wrong Type Shackle or Swivel,
. Did Not Use Specified Seizing Wire.
. Poor quality and/or undersized Nylon Pennant failed in storm.
. Did Not Splice Tight to Thimble - seizing securing pennant to thimble failed, pennant chafed through
. Inadequate, poorly maintained chafe gear caused pennant to wear through.
. Mushroom not tipped.
. Undersize Mushroom,

Excerpted from the Monmouth Boat Club “Moorings Booklet” at:

➥ http://web.mac.com/monmouthboatclub/...s/moorings.pdf

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

If you don't mind relating, where was that mooring and was the boat owner able to recover damages from the mooring owner?

It was in eastern Connecticut and yes the boat owner was able to recover damages (in an out of court settlement, but the mooring owner at first denied negligence, necessitating the use of attorneys). The owner of the mooring had rented it to my friend for the summer with clear responsibility for maintenance resting with the mooring owner. I'm not releasing the name of the mooring owner ONLY because I don't know if confidentiality was part of the settlement terms.